Royal Holloway, University of London

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Royal Holloway, University of London
Motto: Esse quam videri – "To be, rather than to seem"
Established: 1849 (Bedford College);
1879 (Royal Holloway College);
1985 (merger)
Type: Public
Endowment: £57 million[1]
Principal: Prof. Stephen Hill
Students: 7,620[2]
Undergraduates: 5,485[2]
Postgraduates: 2,135[2]
Location: Egham, Surrey, England
Campus: Suburban
Colours:
                               
Affiliations: 1994 Group
University of London
ACU
AMBA
Website: http://www.rhul.ac.uk/

Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL) is a constituent college of the University of London. As of May 2006, the college had 7,700 enrolled students from 120 countries.

The college's campus is located in Egham, Surrey, within the boundary of the Greater London Urban Area, although some 20 miles from the geographic centre of London. This was originally the campus of Royal Holloway College, an establishment founded by Victorian entrepreneur Thomas Holloway as a women-only college in 1879. Royal Holloway College became part of the University of London in 1900, and men were first admitted in 1945 (postgraduates) and 1965 (undergraduates). In 1985, Royal Holloway College merged with Bedford College (another formerly all-women's college in London which was founded in 1849 and, just like Royal Holloway College, joined the University of London in 1900 and became fully co-educational in 1965). The merged college was named Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (RHBNC). This remains the official registered name of the college, though the name was changed for day-to-day use to "Royal Holloway, University of London" by the College Council in 1992.

Contents

[edit] Campus

The campus at Egham is dominated by its original building, known as the "Founder's Building", designed by William Henry Crossland and inspired by the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley, France. The building was officially opened in 1886 by Queen Victoria, who allowed the use of "Royal" in the college's name. The Founder's Building is part of a campus which is set in 55 hectares (135 acres) of parkland and is within walking distance of Windsor Great Park. The size of the campus has allowed the college to develop some of the best sports facilities of any university institution in the London area, and helped build the college's reputation as one of the leading sporting institutions in the South-East of England. The campus is also well-known for its Picture Gallery, located within the Founder's Building, housing a collection of over seventy pieces of Victorian era art given to the college at the time of its founding by Thomas Holloway.

Founder's Building
Founder's Building

The college has recently undergone a £100 million investment programme which has seen the addition of new buildings and the refurbishment of some of the old. The scheme has seen the building of 564 new study bedrooms in two new blocks, Gowar and Wedderburn, which will be used as accommodation for rowers at the 2012 Olympic Games and were opened in September 2004. Similar accommodation blocks were completed in September 2007 to replace the ageing Athlone, Cameron and Williamson Halls. The new buildings are named Butler, Tuke and Williamson. All five of these new halls are named after former principals, have been designed to be environmentally friendly, featuring a sedum-planted undulating roof, and cedar shingles to reflect the surrounding woodland setting, and the rooms have en suite showers and toilets, internet connections and well-equipped kitchens. In addition to the new accommodation, the campus now has the new £8 million Windsor Building, a lecture theatre complex opened in September 2006, featuring a state-of-the-art 400 seat auditorium and eight new seminar rooms. The ageing Bourne Laboratory science complex has been rejuvenated in a £14 million scheme, whilst the first phase of an extension to the School of Management was completed in Summer 2007, in the form of an orb shaped lecture theatre.

[edit] Current position

The Main Gate
The Main Gate

The results of the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE, 2001) placed Royal Holloway ninth in an elite group of ten university institutions whose departments all earned the top three ratings for research, with scores of 4, 5 and 5*. (See: Research Assessment Exercise.)

Royal Holloway is ranked 13th nationally in the independently published Good University Guide sponsored by Pricewaterhouse Coopers in August 2007. Following Imperial College's recent withdrawal, Royal Holloway is now placed 3rd amongst the colleges of the University of London federation, behind LSE and University College London.[3] In 2007, Royal Holloway was placed 12th in the UK by the Times.

Royal Holloway has been ranked second among over 90 universities in England and Wales for the proportion of its students who go into graduate employment, according to the latest official statistics for 2006. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Performance Indicator on Employment of Graduates measures the percentages of those working and studying as a percentage of those working, studying or seeking work after six months. The College scored 97%, coming a very close second to Nottingham Trent with 97.7%, and well above its main competitors.

The School of Management has all three of its MBA programmes accredited by AMBA. The departments of History, Geography, Psychology, Music, Drama, and Media Arts also have strong reputations, as do several of the European Language departments. In 1998 the college was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in recognition of the work of the Information Security Group. The College moved into a new area in August 2004, with the foundation of the Department of Politics and International Relations.

Royal Holloway also came 5th in a league table of UK universities in the 2005 'National Survey of Student Satisfaction'. (This BBC survey is an independent exercise allowing students who have completed their courses to rate their experiences on a number of different aspects of university life.)

[edit] Study Abroad programme

RHUL has developed a variety of study abroad programmes [1], allowing its students to spend a year in institutions including Boston College, the University of Washington, the University of California (UC Berkeley, UCLA and the other campuses), and New York University in the United States; the University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, and the University of Toronto in Canada; Korea University in Republic of Korea; the University of Sydney in Australia; and the National University of Singapore. Postgraduate students also have the opportunity to study at Yale University.

[edit] Students' Union

Students' Union building.
Students' Union building.

The Royal Holloway Students' Union (SURHUL) provides entertainment and pastoral services for the student body. This includes providing the on-campus entertainment and social venues through to organising and sponsoring the sport clubs and special-interest societies, and providing advice and counselling to students.

Like most students' unions in the United Kingdom, SURHUL is run entirely by the student body itself, headed by a team of elected student officers, including four paid sabbatical officers. In keeping with democratic practice, the elected officers' executive power is held in check by the legislative power of General Meetings. General Meetings take place every month during term time, however following a motion passed in March 2007, the political structure of the students' union will change to a council-run system with only one General Meeting per year. This is in response to low turn-outs at General Meetings.

With little nearby off-campus activity, there is a great emphasis placed on providing entertainment for the students. As such on-campus entertainment and social life revolves around three student-run campus bars (Medicine, The Stumble Inn and Tommy's), with a fourth (Crosslands) run by the College. The main SURHUL building has a large function hall which hosts a wide variety of entertainment events three to four nights a week (plus functions on the other nights in Tommy's and Medicine) during term time. Every three weeks the Union publishes its Communicate Card which outlines the forthcoming social events. At least one event runs each night, from a fancy dress night in the main hall, through to the weekly pub quiz in the Stumble Inn. The Union operates a strict security system and also provides a bus service which, for a small fee, ferries students back to off-campus accommodation in an effort to ensure student safety.

James Bond Appreciation Society
James Bond Appreciation Society
RHUL Bears Basketball Club – Club of the Year 2007/08
RHUL Bears Basketball Club – Club of the Year 2007/08

Towards the end of the academic year the Union organises the Summer Ball, the annual highlight of the social calendar. In recent years the RHUL Summer Ball has booked many high-profile talents, including well-known rock, pop and DJ acts such as Lemar, Jamiroquai, Brandon Block, Lisa Maffia, Rolf Harris, Steps, Republica, Wheatus and Atomic Kitten, and comedians such as Ali G. 2006 saw Rachel Stevens and the Bodyrockers headlining. The ball takes place at the end of the examination period, and is held in the quads of the Founder's Building. The ball includes fairground attractions and themed bars.

There are numerous societies run through the Union, spanning culture, religion and differing academic and artistic pursuits. Through the World Cinema Society, free screenings of movies from around the world in many different languages are available on campus during term time. Societies include the James Bond Appreciation Society, the Comedy society (which hosts stand up evenings throughout term time), the Institute for Impure Science (IFIS) the Science Fiction and Fantasy society, the longest running society, and Anime & Manga, which won society of the year for 2004/05. The Union also maintains a number of successful sports club, catering to sports as diverse as rowing and ultimate. The 2007/08 "Sports Club of the Year" award went to the Bears Basketball Club. Many other sports teams at the college also enjoyed a high level of success in the 2007/08 season.

[edit] RAG

Royal Holloway also has its own RAG fundraising society. RAG Week raises thousands of pounds each year and usually consists of a themed night in the Union where the rugby men strip on stage while being led by the dance society, a RAG pantomime, nights in the bars and various stunts around campus. In the past, Founders building has been put up for sale, RAG Rabbit has run amok and the infamous RAG MAG and RAG Calendar are popular on campus.[citation needed]

[edit] Media

[edit] Insanity Radio

Within the local area around Egham, SURHUL is known for its award-winning student radio station, Insanity. Established in 1998, Insanity broadcasts during term time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is available locally over 1287 AM and worldwide over the internet at www.insanityradio.com. Insanity was named the UK's second-best student radio station in the Student Radio Association's Student Radio Awards in 2004 and 2005.

[edit] The Orbital magazine

Published by the Students' Union, up to 14 times per academic year under the new format, The Orbital is the official student publication of Royal Holloway, University of London. It contains a wide range of subjects covering culture, current affairs, entertainment, student life and general interests.

The Orbital was awarded Best Student Magazine at the National Press Association/NUS National Student Journalism Awards 2006. Judges from the media industry commented on the magazine's standards, describing it as "gritty, witty, relevant and coherent, packaged with good design and strong front covers." The magazine was also nominated in two other categories: Best Student Critic (Laura Beattie) and Best Student Photographer (Patrick Camara Ropeta).

[edit] The Founder newspaper

The Founder is the College's independent student newspaper. Founded in 2006, 5,000 free copies are printed and distributed on a fortnightly basis to numerous spots on campus and in the local area. Advertising revenue acquired by the students on the editorial board pays for the printing costs of the paper meaning that editorial and financial responsibility is entirely that of students. The newspaper's website can be found at www.thefounder.co.uk.

[edit] In popular culture

The Founder's Building has been the centre of some media attention. The 2006 movie Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction was partly filmed in the Founder's Building during the summer of 2005. The character Sophie Neveu in the best-selling book The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown studied cryptography in the (real) Information Security Group at Royal Holloway. The Oscar winning movie Howards End had some scenes shot inside one of the courtyards with the statue of Queen Victoria visible. [2] Founder's was also used as a university during the filming of MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis starring Richard Dean Anderson and Brian Blessed back in the summer of 1993. The Antiques Roadshow for the BBC has also filmed inside the Quads of the Founder's Building. In 2002 an episode of Midsomer Murders, (Season 5 Episode 4 'Murder on St. Malley's Day'), was partly shot inside the Quads of the founders building. The building and backdrop were also used as the backdrop for a fictional graduation ceremony in the ITV series Honest.

[edit] Additional logos

[edit] The Shield

The Royal Holloway shield was created following the merger of Bedford and Royal Holloway Colleges in 1985. The chequer design was taken from the Bedford College coat of arms, whilst the ermine spots (feather-like symbols representing ermine tails) are from Royal Holloway. The lozenge shape in the chequered pattern is a traditional heraldic symbol for women. The three crescents are taken from Thomas Holloway's own coat of arms, as can be seen on the statue in the South quad of the college.

For legal reasons the shield appears (in a black and white form) on legal documents and stationery, accompanied by the following text: "Incorporated by Act of Parliament. Royal Holloway and Bedford New College."

[edit] The Coat of Arms

The coat of arms consist of the shield and its surrounding elements, of which significant are above a lamp of learning between two black lozenges, and below the motto taken from the arms of Bedford College 'ESSE QUAM VIDERI'.

In certain instances the coat of arms takes precedence over the logo or shield on printed matter, for example for historical or ceremonial requirements including graduation certificates.

[edit] Corporate Identity Manual

  • See Corporate Identity Manual, RHUL regarding correct design and conditions of use of Logo, Shield and Coat of Arms.[3]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] See also

[edit] References

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)
  1. ^ http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Finance/Docs/Financial%20State%2005.pdf
  2. ^ a b c Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  3. ^ The Good University Guide League Table. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  • Bingham, Caroline, “The History of Royal Holloway College, 1886-1986", London: Constable, 1987.

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Recognised bodies of the University of London
v • d • e
The 1994 Group of research-led British universities

Coordinates: 51°25′29″N, 0°34′01″W